Collingwood legend Mick McGuane says Nathan Buckley erred at selection table, labels Pie star Jaidyn Stephenson ‘timid’
Nathan Buckley’s decision to drop a fully fit star defender has come into question following Collingwood’s upset loss to Fremantle, club great Mick McGuane also launching a rocket at an underperforming young star.
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Collingwood premiership star Mick McGuane says Nathan Buckley erred in dropping full back Jordan Roughead and has urged a “timid” Jaidyn Stephenson to start committing his body to the cause.
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McGuane watched the club’s loss to Fremantle with a sense of frustration, believing Buckley could have thrown around the magnets to create a goal as the game slipped away.
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He told the Herald Sun on Monday emerging star Stephenson was playing “pretty timid footy” and was “not physical at all” in his recent contests.
Pies coach Buckley admitted he had let his club down with a COVID breach that meant he and assistant coach Brenton Sanderson had to isolate for 24 hours until recording a negative coronavirus test.
Irish first-gamer Mark Keane was then left on the dangerous Matt Taberner and conceded an early goal while ball-watching and the late sealing goal after pushing the Fremantle forward in the back.
“It is dangerous commenting on selection when you don’t know all of the issues but you have to take on face value (that Roughead was dropped),” McGuane said of the Pies defender who Collingwood listed as “omitted”.
“He has been quite serviceable and he was bad the week before but he would have suited a Rory Lobb or even in part Matt Taberner knowing (Nathan) Fyfe would also spend time forward.
“Fremantle tried to isolate Keane in his first experience in a dangerous part of the ground and those things just add up in games. They put him in a panic situation where you back yourself or kill the footy and given his inexperience he gave away a free kick and a gift goal to Fremantle.”
Collingwood stated in its selection release that Roughead was omitted rather than rested or managed.
McGuane said No. 6 draft pick Stephenson, who kicked his first goal in a month, has increasingly avoided body contact in recent weeks.
“Stephenson is playing pretty timid footy. He is not physical at all. When you watch him closely and he wins possession, he is making hurried decisions. Even that snap late at the goals he couldn’t wait to get rid of it. He is waiting to get tackled or bumped and when you put him into the midfield action there is too much time when he is playing as if he can’t wait to get rid of the football,” he said.
“When he is playing deep he is clearly a different player because he attacks the footy with venom to run into space and he has that electrifying speed. Playing up the ground now isn’t suiting him or Collingwood.
“They have got to get back to being a contested ball team and a tackling and pressure team that we Collingwood ex-players so greatly admire.
“They had a contested ball win against West Coast but were clearly outplayed in the other facets and last night to watch the contest and pressure and tackling efficiency, it is clearly now where it should be to win games of AFL footy.”
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McGuane says the Pies can turn it around against Sydney but have issues at both ends of the ground and clearly miss Scott Pendlebury’s poise in the centre.
He believes Buckley should have made more in-game changes to fix the lack of crumbing potency with Josh Thomas out of form and Cal Brown injured.
“I know they are a system-based organisation but sometimes when things aren’t going right at one end there is a reluctance to switch players in-game based on trends. Watching last night with Cal Brown not providing pressure at ground level and Thomas who couldn’t get near it, they had Travis Varcoe who was a front-and-square player at Geelong and early on at Collingwood playing half back. They could have reshuffled their defence to get him in and find a goal.”
HUGE PRAISE AS SIXTH-GAMER UPSTAGES PIES STARS
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir believes the Dockers can match it with any team when they bring the commitment and hunger for the contest that rattled Collingwood in a stunning upset on Sunday night.
The Dockers won contested ball by a massive 151-115 and upstaged the Magpies’ star midfielders at the coalface, winning the clearances 45-30 despite Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy’s hitout dominance.
Fremantle now has three wins from its past five games and a proud Longmuir said the 12-point win showed what was possible with 22 contributors.
“It’s great to win, great to beat them, but it’s probably just more a reflection of, and an understanding for, our boys that if we have 22 committed players to their roles and the contest we can mix it with any team,” Longmuir said.
“It’s not so much the opponent tonight (Sunday). It’s the brand we played and the commitment to each other.
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“We were after 22 guys committed to their role and the contest, and I thought we got that. That’s what pleased me most.”
First-year Fremantle midfielder Caleb Serong was the star at Optus Stadium, running with Magpies midfielder Taylor Adams and finishing with 24 possessions (14 contested) and nine clearances.
The No. 8 draft pick got his team back in the contest after a scoreless first quarter with 10 disposals in a sparkling second term, using the ball at 80 per cent efficiency.
“He’s not your typical first-year player,” Longmuir said.
“He’s really mixed it with our midfielders since day one and we’ve given him a couple of roles the last couple of weeks playing on those really goods inside players.
“He’s been able to get the job done and get the upper hand in both of those roles.
“I’m just really proud of him. He’s a good kid with a good attitude and a good skillset for AFL footy.
“I think the last two weeks shows he’s got a lot of talent and AFL qualities and he’s only going to get better.”
Serong has shortened in Rising Star markets as a result of his heroics, which came a week after he went head-to-head with Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield.
Only 155 AFL Games played in the Number 22 for @freodockers from 7 players since 1995 prior to this year...
— Michael Barlow (@mjbarlow20) August 2, 2020
Caleb Serong will be nice to watch in the purple 22 for 155 and many many more . 🔫 #AFLFreoPies
Serong’s performance, the return of Connor Blakely (23 possessions) and a fine showing from veteran David Mundy (23 and 10 clearances) meant captain Nat Fyfe was able to play forward for long periods in his return from a hamstring injury.
It was a window into the future, Longmuir said, as the Dockers’ young on-ballers build their careers.
“He wants to play forward, we want him to play forward, and we’ll continue to work on the balance of his forward and midfield time,” the coach said.
“The thing about Nathan when he goes forward is he draws a good defender, he makes that defender play on him … and he gives us a really strong contest.
“We’ll continue to tinker with that, but I liked the balance tonight.”
COLLINGWOOD CRASHES OUT OF EIGHT
Collingwood left the Perth hub with its season on the slide on Sunday night after being ambushed by a young and hungry Fremantle, losing a thrilling clash at Optus Stadium by 12 points.
The Dockers bounced back from a scoreless first quarter, lifting their intensity, spanking the Magpies in the midfield, and holding their nerve in a grandstand finish to win 10.1 (61) to 7.7 (49).
First-year midfielder Caleb Serong was immense for the Dockers, upstaging the Magpies’ big names to finish with 24 possessions and nine clearances to announce himself as a future star.
Power forward Matt Taberner persisted to finish with four goals, while captain Nat Fyfe returned from injury and played forward for the majority of the contest, with his team still winning the clearances 45-30.
The loss for the Magpies, who used the ball poorly and couldn’t stand the Dockers’ pressure, rounded out a poor Perth leg of the season that has their premiership credentials under question.
Dockers have their Neale replacement
Being handed run-with roles in the past two matches has helped first-year midfielder Caleb Serong showcase his talents and justify early comparisons to former Docker Lachie Neale.
In round eight against Geelong he was set the task of running with Patrick Dangerfield, winning that match-up and earning a Rising Star nomination.
On Sunday night, he went straight to Taylor Adams and worked off the consistent Magpies onballer.
The 179cm midfielder was excellent in the second quarter when the Dockers made their move, racking up 10 possessions, four clearances and using the ball at 80 per cent efficiency.
He was a long way to go to catch Brownlow Medal favourite Neale, but it is clear the Dockers used their pick No. 8 in last year’s national draft wisely.
Steele’s surge gets Pies back in contest
All eyes were on Collingwood vice-captain Steele Sidebottom in his return from a four-match suspension for breaching the AFL’s COVID-19 guidelines, and the midfielder’s performance was underwhelming initially.
He entered halftime with six possessions and one inside 50, but his class came to the fore in the critical third quarter with his team on the ropes.
Sidebottom had 10 possessions as his team clawed back a 15-point margin, kicking a brilliant goal with an inside-out snap in traffic to help his team hang in under pressure.
He wasn’t popular with the crowd, but the Magpies would have been happy to see the dual club champion find touch after a scratchy start.
Alarm bells for Collingwood at the contest
The biggest issue for the Magpies in a disappointing first half was the lesson a young Fremantle midfield gave them at the coalface.
Beaten to the contested ball (73-53) and losing the clearances (20-13), alarm bells were sounding early for Nathan Buckley and his men for the second straight match.
Experienced midfielders Adam Treloar and Adams were lacking support at stoppages and the Dockers looked hungrier when the ball was in dispute.
With captain Scott Pendlebury sidelined for at least another match with his quad injury, the Pies need to find answers in the midfield quickly.
They have matches against battling teams Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne to come, but the Dockers showed their star-studded midfield is gettable.
SCOREBOARD
FREMANTLE 0.0 4.1 6.1 10.1 (61)
COLLINGWOOD 1.2 2.4 6.5 7.7 (49)
GOALS
Fremantle: Taberner 4, Crowden 2, Schultz 2, Fyfe, Mundy
Collingwood: Sidebottom 2, Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Mihocek, Sier, Stephenson
BEST
Fremantle: Serong, Taberner, Mundy, Blakely, Ryan, Schultz, Hughes
Collingwood: Maynard, Treloar, Grundy, Sidebottom, Crisp
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Collingwood: Nil
REPORTS
Fremantle: Nil
Collingwood: Nil
CROWD: 20,912 at Optus Stadium
VOTES
3. C Serong (Fremantle)
2. M Taberner (Fremantle)
1. D Mundy (Fremantle)
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Originally published as Collingwood legend Mick McGuane says Nathan Buckley erred at selection table, labels Pie star Jaidyn Stephenson ‘timid’